Why I no longer use Hotwire

I've used Hotwire for years. When you don't care exactly where you stay, it offered some great deals on last minute hotel reservations. Got an awesome hotel on the beach in Dayton with a balcony one time.

And then I tried to use it for a hotel in Denver. Now getting a hotel can be stressful because there are just SO MANY CHOICES! How important is location? Amenities? Price? I had finally settled on the Hotwire deal that claimed it was about a $40 savings on a 2 star hotel that normally cost around $100. Two star hotels are normally those hotels between Super 8's and Hampton Inns. Maybe a Best Western. Something like that.

Nope, not this one. It was the cheaper sibling of an Extended Stay America and actually cost the same amount on the hotel's website as my "deal" for using Hotwire. Strike #1.

And then I started reading the hotel's reviews. I read a lot of reviews and I write a fair amount of them. This hotel had by far the worst reviews I had ever seen for a hotel. And pictures to back up the reviews! There were complaints of dirty sheets, piles of trash, drug deals in the parking lot. And on about half the reviews the management had posted a response. But the responses were all form responses that basically amounted to "Why didn't you call us, we would have fixed everything!" I feel with that many complaints, that wouldn't actually have been possible. Strike #2.

I contacted Hotwire. Repeatedly. Email. Facebook. And never got any conclusive response. I got form email after form email and promises to look into things, but no resolution. They didn't offer to switch my hotel. They didn't offer to let me rebook. They just kept saying to check in and call them. Our flight was to land at 1:30am, if it was on time. I wasn't calling them in the middle of the night to try to fix a problem that didn't really seem like they could fix it (what, were they going to tear down the hotel and rebuild it in a different, safer location?) Strike #3.

I will no longer be using Hotwire for my travels and I warn you guys to avoid it as well. Their facebook page is not full of compliments. I think they've lost their touch.

Finger's crossed Priceline still has it! They did not disappoint when I used them to help my parent's get a hotel in NYC.